Countdown
by Jay-with-Splice
Summary: The BLU Sniper outcasts himself away from his teammates. All except one, the BLU Pyro, and the BLU Scout will have none of it. His attempts at getting close all end with one mistake. Contains BLU Pyro/BLU Sniper friendship and BLU Sniper/BLU Scout later on.
1. Chapter 1

A loud, ear-splitting gunshot went off, a bullet embedding itself deeply into the forehead of the RED Heavy. A low, but deep chuckle, a quick reload of the Sniper Rifle, and the BLU Sniper was once again on the hunt. He tipped his hat further over his aviator-covered eyes, sitting down heavily on a crate nearby the open window. He brought his hand up to pull his bandana off his mouth so he could bring the coffee cup up to his lips, taking a small sip from his still steaming cup of decaf, before setting his coffee cup back down on another crate and replacing the bandana back over his mouth and nose.

Macklin had been up in his nest all morning, the battle between the REDs and the BLUs seemed never-ending. Removing his hat, he wiped the sweat from his brow, before settling it once again over his near white hair. The abino Sniper perked at the loud yelling coming from below, so he leaned forward in his seat and peered out through his scope once again. There was a dash of red as the RED Scout dashed right past the BLU's defenses, smacking anyone near him with his bat, laughing out an obnoxious, "Boink!" at basically every hit.

Yamir, the BLU Soldier, had sent a rocket flying at the brat, but he zipped straight out of the way and clonked their Soldier firmly against his scalp. An angered shout from the small, but fierce man, but the Scout was already dashing off towards their base. A snort from the albino, and he fired, his bullet digging straight into the ankle of the RED. Macklin gave a grin at the loud alarmed noise that came from the Scout. Heinz, their Medic, had just left the Respawn room and stared down at the RED that had collapsed just outside their base.

His screams came next as the crazed Medic withdrew his Ubersaw and began to hack away at the defenseless Scout. Macklin almost felt sorry for the poor kid, but this was war, no matter how young or old you were. It didn't take too long for him to see the BLU Medic again, his medium sized frame dashing towards the yelling Demoman. The BLU once again began to scan around the Dustbowl battleground, occasionally firing off a few shots, them either missing, or making their mark.

Then he heard a small peculiar sound, which caused the albino's eyes to narrow slightly, hand shooting towards his Kukri settled at his waist. The trapdoor that was the only entrance and exit flew open and he found himself staring into the face of Remi, the BLU Scout. Giving a gap-toothed grin, the Scout hauled himself up and through the trapdoor, closing it nice and shut behind him. "Hey Snipes!" Remi greeted with a wave of his bandaged hand. Macklin's own hand didn't leave his Kukri, but his other hand gave a wave back to him, after having settled his Rifle in a safe place. "Remi...'ow's tha foight goin?"

Remi strutted his way over to his teammate, plopping down on the box where Macklin had been seated earlier. An ignorant huff from the Scout. "Boppin' heads is how I'm doin'! I'm so fast, dey can't catch me, the dumbasses." The Scout gave a few loud howling laughs, which made Macklin wrinkle his noise and give a deep sounding growl. "Keep yer mouth shut, gremlin...talk quioetly...don't want them REDs hearin' ye loud obnoxious voice." That earned him a glare, but Macklin ignored it as he stalked over to the Scout and the albino pushed him out of his seat. There was a sound of complaint that ended quickly with an barely seen nasty glare from behind thick aviators as the Sniper settled back down on the crate.

Remi straightened up from where he was now sitting, leaning back slightly although there was nothing behind him to keep him up. He watched the Sniper take up his rifle again and peer through the scope. He jumped at the gunshot that soon followed and a deep gravelly voice of, "That snuffed yer fire, ya filthy arsonist." Remi looked over the long barrel of the Sniper Rifle, eyes glancing to the scope, them the mostly covered face that belonged to his teammate.

"Why d'ya keep yer face all covered up like tha'? Yeah, I get that yer albino an' all but isn't dat just a bit too much?" The Sniper lowered the rifle and looked to him with a completely blank look. A gruff and he returned to picking off the RED team. "Ah don't just wear all this cuz of my genetics. I wear it cuz oi want ta." Remi didn't even try to scan his teammate's face for lies, for he couldn't even see his face. "Aw dat's borin' man! Are ya horribly disfigured or some crazy shit like that?" By this point, the BLU Sniper began to ignore the younger male's words.

The battle continued on through the hours, a loud bell finally sounding off for indication that it was lunch break. The albino sat back with a satisfied grin. He craned his head back to stare at the now sleeping Scout. Lazy bugger. He stood up from his spot and kicked at him with the heel of his boot and dragged an annoyed groan from him and a sluggish shifting movement. Another kick and those hazel eyes slipped open to glare up at the other. The BLU sat up, rubbing at his kicked side. "C'mon man! Dat sucks!" The Scout got no pity as the albino ushered him towards the trapdoor.

"Go git yer lunch, mongrel...Wade cooked somefin up fer everyone t'day." That earned the Sniper a grin as Remi lurched for the door and slid down the ladder. During the lunch, everyone's weapons were put on temporary lockdown, so as the two sides couldn't go off and start murdering each other when the other team had their back turned. Leaning not too far out the window, he watched Caleb's level 3 sentry shut down. Not too far away, Beetle was chugging down the remainder of his god awful Scrumpy. Wade was sitting in Caleb's pickup truck's bed, handing out the lunches to his teammates.

The Sniper didn't even have to leave his nest to go retrieve his lunch. There was a slight knock on the trapdoor and in came the BLU Pyro with a small box. "Mmph mm mm.." The Pyro handed the box to him and once again, he was at the bottom of the ladder. Macklin shut the door, leaning back against the wall and opening up the container of food. He couldn't help the small bit of laughter at the juice box he found in there, as well as some goldfish and a nicely made grilled cheese sandwich.

Lunch always passed too quickly. After the Sniper had finished, the bell gave it's loud alarming song and the war was back on. LImbs were flying as people were blown up. The Sniper was once again back on the prowl, only this time, Remi was nowhere to be seen. The Scout had just up and vanished. Perhaps he managed to sneak into the RED base? "BLU Scout is in our base!" Well that answered his question.

Raising his gun, he trained it on the entrance to the RED base, watching and waiting for either that familiar flash of blue, or a RED that came into his view. Macklin caught sight of the RED Demoman and the RED Spy, and Macklin wanted to get rid of the Spy asquick as he could possible. He raised lined up the scope of his rifle with the Spy's head and just as he pulled the trigger, the Spy vanished and the wasted shot clang loudly against the wall beside the Demoman.

The RED gave a half-drunken shout, his one eye immediately focusing on the BLU Sniper's nest. Raising his grenade launcher, he fired two glowing grenades up to his nest, yelling in a drunken accent. "Aw piss!" The albino clamped his hand down on top of his head, ducking away from the window just as the grenade flew through it and exploded upon touching the wall. It sent the Sniper flying against the wall, a pained noise leaving his lips.

Inside the RED base, Remi was having a difficult time maneuvering around through the halls. There was always someone in his way. The idiot Soldier, the big fatass Heavy. If it hadn't been for Anderson, he would have been all the way back at Respawn, having to start over from the beginning. Poking his head slowly around the corner, he jerked it back in alarm when a rocket went flying on by, blowing up when it touched the wall. "Come in 'ere an' get our intel, boy..." The voice of the crazed RED Engineer always set the Scout's nerves aflame. It wasn't until someone materialized beside the Scout and Remi grinned up at the BLU Spy.

"Anderson! Do you think you could-?" The Spy gave a soft chuckle, interrupting the Scout's sentence and raising his hand to correct his tie. "Oh of courze, mon petite. I have helped you out the ozer two timez." The Spy brought up his watch and right before the Scout's eyes, the Spy vanished into thin air. Once again peeking just barely around the corner, he saw the barely visible blue outline of the Spy sneak behind the RED. Remi grinned slowly as Anderson became visible once again, raising his knife and digging it sharply into the other's back.

The Engineer gave a loud yell of pain, but the knife dug deeper into his spinal column and effectively ended the man's life. Whipping out his sapper, he attached numerous ones all about the Engineer's sentries and dispensers. They spat out sparks and fire, shorting out. "And zere we 'ave it." Anderson gave the Scout a sly grin. "Do be careful on your way back." Once again the Spy vanished and Remi was left to his own devices. The Scout was quick to snatch up the briefcase and take off down the path he had came from.

"The enemy has captured our intellegence." Macklin sat up in his place, wincing in pain. He could hear the trample of footsteps and the sound of the Administrator's voice. He clambered up to his feet, stumbling back to the window and peering out through the open window. He casted a gaze around his nest, gritting his teeth together at all of his destroyed items. He picked through the broken crate he usually sat on and gave a sigh of relief that a few of his pictures remained intact. Tucking them into his vest, he took his Rifle and his Kukri and flipped open the trapdoor and slid down the ladder. His feet touched the ground just before he caught sight of Remi dash out of the RED base.

"MAGGOT!" Macklin's head jerked to the side when he saw the RED Soldier raise his rocket launcher towards the running Scout. "Run leetle man!" In came Anton, the large BLU Heavy raising his minigun towards the RED and unleashing a storm of bullets towards him. When Remi passed right on by the Sniper, Macklin ducked behind a building just as Wade had a bullet pass cleanly through his skull, the Pyro had gotten in front of the Sniper bullet so Remi could get inside the base.

"Bugger!" He peeked out from behind the wall, aiming his rifle up at the RED Sniper's nest and firing up at him. He knew his missed the Sniper's head, but the bullet distracted the Sniper for but a moment. "You fail!" The Administrator's voice snapped towards the REDs. In fear, they dropped their weapons and turned to run away before they were murdered and forced back to Respawn. The BLUs gave chase, attempting to murder them all before they got away.

Taking a deep breath, Macklin turned and began staggering away from the bloodbathe and heading back towards the base. The albino was bumped into by the BLU Pyro, who had respawned to join the fray. There was a muffled apology from the firebug, and the Sniper returned it with a wave. Macklin passed quietly by the entrance to the base, raising his hand to rub the back of his neck and giving a grunt. Remi ran out just in time to see the door to Macklin's camper van slam shut. And that was the last they'd see him for the night, Remi bet. With a soft shake of his head, and a kick of his shoe, and the Scout headed back inside the base.


	2. Chapter 2

There they were. Both sitting at the table, talking to each other as they always did every morning. Remi had been sitting up where at the small bar in the kitchen, shoveling cereal into his mouth. Anderson looked up from where he was cooking to the jealous Scout. His navy eyes then glanced to where Wade and Macklin sat, talking calmly about something that probably involved their families. A soft chuckle drew Remi to peer up at the Spy.

"What're you laughin' at?" He grumbled towards the Spook. Anderson allowed a smile to stretch across his face, gloved fingers just so tightening around the handle to the frying pan. He waved the spatula in Remi's direction in an nonchalant way. "You, mon petite. You are juzt so zilly about thiz whole ordeal with ze Zniper." That sly smile never left his face, moving the eggs off the heat of the fire and spooning them onto Anton's plate, the large Heavy taking his plate back and resuming breakfast. "I ain't jealous!" Remi grumbled to him, tapping his spoon against the granite of the bar. "I never zaid jealouz, mon petite."

Anderson could almost see the steam blowing out of Remi's ears at his remark and he couldn't refuse the bout of laughter that left him. His eyes once again glanced to the pair, noticing Wade get up from his spot and wander on over to them. His gas mask was pulled up to reveal his mouth so that he could speak. "Uh...hope I'm n-not disturb-ing anything..." That almost stuttery voice made Remi's eyes narrow, it as usual, not going unseen by the Spy. "But uh...we're g-onna need more dec-caf. Macklin's all sorts of j-j-jumpy today..." Wade gave a smile to Remi as he handed Macklin's mug to the Spy, but no smile was returned. With the mug once again filled, the Spy handed it back to the Pyro and he was off back to the Sniper.

"I underztand you are jealouz, lapin, but why don't you juzt go over zere and be friendly? Or iz zat too 'ard for you, mon enfant?" The glare on the Scout's face remained, but he didn't move from his spot at the kitchen bar. Remi watched silently as the Spy cracked open a few more eggs when just down the bar from where the Scout sat, Yamir had tapped the bar a few times with his knuckles. "While you wallow in your zelf pity, Zcout. I have to finish breakfazt. Pleaze at leazt put a little thought into what I said." Remi was once again faced with the Spy's back, and he slumped forward grumpily into his seat to finish his cereal.

Today, both teams were setting out to Coldfront. After breakfast had come and gone, the entire BLU team was sitting in the briefing room, deciding who was riding with who to get to the snow covered base. Yamir was standing at the head of the table, hands pressed firmly against the top. "Alright!" Everyone could feel his burning gaze, despite his thick helmet sheltering his eyes. "I'll be riding with Caleb and Beetle in the Engineer's pickup truck. Heinz and Anton can go together, and that leaves..." He turned to Macklin. "Anderson, Remi, and Wade with you." The albino simply gave a nod, leaning back in his chair just the slightest as he thought over the accommidations.

With that decided, the briefing was dismissed and everyone went to their rooms to pack up the stuff they had. Macklin waved a goodbye to Wade, Remi, and Anderson as he set out to his unused room to pack up what he had in there. He never kept too much in there, most of his important items were in his camper van. He took up the few vests and shirts he kept in there and not bothering to pack them, he stepped outside his room and headed off down the hall and outside the room to wait outside his van. After stuffing his stuff inside, he leaned stood beside the van, in the most accurrate place so that he could face the exit to their base.

Heinz came strutting out of the exit not too long later, head held high. "Make sure you check your vounds constantly on the vay zere..." Heinz stated simply to the Sniper as he walked on by. "Ve don't vant a vounded Sniper who can't do there job." Macklin narrowed his eyes at the Medic. They never saw eye to eye. Yet again, he never saw eye to eye with most people on his team. He leaned up against his beloved camper van, hands fitting themselves in his pockets. He let out a soft sigh, of near impatience, when Yamir and Beetle and came walking out, Caleb in tow.

"Beetle. Ya'll are th' largest of us three, so yer gonna hafta sit in the bed." There was a bit of drunken garble coming from the Demoman at first, but he found his words eventually. "Ah got eet laddy...ah got eet..." The BLU staggered his way over to the truck a bit faster, climbing up into the back and leaning up against the side. Yamir adjusted his helmet a bit so that could stare awkwardly at the stumbling and garbling Demoman. He took his luggage and settled it in the back with Beetle. Caleb gave Macklin a small smile as he walked on by and got into the front of his truck.

"Monsier Sniper..." Macklin near jumped out of his vest when that sultry French voice registered in his brain. He turned his head just a tad bit to the left and Anderson materialized beside him, a fancy looking briefcase in his right hand. "Are you quite zure your horrid van can hold all of us?" He sounded serious but Macklin knew for a fact it was all in good fun. The Sniper gave the Spy a few rough pats on his shoulder.

"Quoit sure...the ol' sheila has toted more people than four. This is nothin'." Macklin gave the van a loving pat, before once again stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Ya seen the Scout and Pyro on your way out?" Anderson gave a smart alic grin at his words, setting is briefcase down beside him. "Why of courze. Remi told me he would wait for Wade and they would walk out togezer..."

A bandaged hand stretched out towards the wooden door, knuckles rapping against the strong frame. "Wade? Yo man, ya done yet?" There was a bit of a noise, some rustling, and the door suddenly burst open, nearly clonking Remi straight in the head. The Scout stumbled back, glaring up at the over-excited Pyro, whose mask was pulled up to reveal his mouth so that he could speak. "Just finished!" The Pyro said in an excited-like voice that caused Remi to lean back and give him a strange look. Wade continued to grin his big stupid grin, even when Remi was frowning at him. "Thanks for waiting! Let's get going!"

When both men set out into a even pace, walking down the hall silently, Remi felt like pure murder when he was walking beside the man he felt so jealous of. In each hand, they held a suitcase that held all of their items they had taken from their rooms. That was, until Wade opened his big mouth again. "You seem much angrier than normal..." Remi glanced up at the Pyro from the corner of his eye, managing to keep a blank look on his face. "Is it because of how much time I spend with Macklin?" Wade couldn't stop a grin from forming when he saw the Scout's face.

"Naw man! Its not dat! C'mon be serious..." His gaze flickered to the left wall angrily and he could feel the blood go to his face when Wade began laughing. "I can tell you're lying. You're so defensive...but nothing to worry about. We're just friends...you can get closer to him if you're nice." Pushing open the exit doors, Wade generously held it open for the shorter male as he stomped on out. Anderson and Macklin were still there, waiting in front of the camper van and Macklin waved them over.

"C'mon blokes. We gotta lot of ground tae make up." He yanked the door open and Wade climbed on in, Remi, ignoring the grinning Spy and the slightly confused Sniper, clambering into the van afterwards. Macklin could feel a soft shake of his van as he felt the pair sit down in their chosen seats. The albino looked to Anderson, but the Spy started whistling a light tune as he swiftly entered the van and took the passenger's seat. Giving a soft shrug of his shoulders, Macklin stepped into the van and closed the door behind him, settling in the driver's seat and sliding the key into the ignition.

Macklin realized that this drive would be far quieter than he thought it would. As soon as the four of them had eaten and the sun fell behind the mountains as night took over, Wade and Anderson had fallen asleep where they sat. As far as he knew, Remi was asleep as well, but the occasional huff and sigh told him that he was still awake. "Get up here gremlin..." He heard another familiar huff, footsteps, and Remi could barely be seen on the corner of his eyes. "Oi need ya ta git a few blankets from the cupboard beside the bed...one fer Anders and one fer Wade. It gets cold these nights...git one fer yerself too. I heard your teeth chatterin a bit." There was movement as Remi went to go do what Macklin said. There was the sound of something opening then closing.

A blanket was then laid over the Spy and the albino guessed he had laid one over the slumbering Pyro. "Thanks mate...why dont'cha git some sleep yerself?" He heard a soft noise of agreement, shuffling feet, and a _whump _as Remi slumped backwards into the chair he had been in before. The night rolled on into the earlier hours of morning when Anderson had finally woken up. His head craned over to stare at the Sniper, the grey blanket falling off his chest and into his lap. "Mon dieu, misieur Sniper. Perhapz I should take over to allow you to get zome zleep?"

Macklin let his head tilt in the direction of the Spy, a soft nod was given and he turned the wheel to allow the camper van to pull over on to the side of the road. "Alroight mate, alroight..." He unbuckled himself, climbing to his feet and heading to the couch that had been nailed to the floor to prevent it from crashing about while he drove. He stuffed a pillow behind his head, feeling his precious van pull up from the curb and back out onto the street. Where the Sniper was laying, he could see Wade bunched up in a small ball dressed in his casual clothes, but his gas mask still over his face. He could also see Remi, slumped over his dining room table, also bolted to the floor. He was probably drooling all over it, but his dark auborne brown hair was tussled. A soft smile, and Macklin adjusted himself in his place, hand coming up to remove his hat and his aviators and set them down on the kitchen table, finally letting sleep claim him.


	3. Chapter 3

When Macklin next awoke, Anderson was still driving, navy blue eyes glued to the road and not showing even a hint of being tired or perhaps he was just good at a poker face. Wade was still fast asleep, curled up in a little ball and still managing to fit inside the chair despite his size. Sitting up, he peered out through the window and stared up at the snow beginning to fall from the sky, blanketing sides and middle of the road. They would have to pull over soon to put the chains on the wheels of his camper van. Turning his head, he then noticed that Remi was awake and standing, digging through the cabinets, and most likely looking for something to eat. Standing up himself, he moved over beside the other and laid a hand on his shoulder. "We're gon' wait fer Wade ta wake up first..." He motioned for the Scout to just sit back down and Remi did, plopping right back down and leaning back in his seat with his famous 'oh my god, I am so bored' look.

"Uh...so...do you have any family waiting for you to come home?" The question made the Sniper crane his head back to stare at Remi. Brow raising, Macklin moved and took a seat in the chair across the table from the Scout and looked him in the eye. "I have my mom...and dad...plus my three older brothers and two little sisters..." Remi muttered out as fast as he could. Macklin almost didn't hear what the kid had said, but if he didn't, his pink eyes wouldn't have widened just a bit and had caused Macklin to chuckle. "Wha? What're you laughin at?"

"ya just have so many mohre family members than oi have, kid..." Fingers lightly pinched the bridge of his nose, massaging slowly. "Oi juss have me sister...moi paycheck pays for her treatments." Macklin caught the way Remi's eyes widened, his relaxed posture becoming near rigid and he leaned forward in his seat. "She has somefin wrong with her heart...Oi took this job so oi can pay for her to get betta." Remi gave a sad look, hands drumming along the tabletop as the Scout searched his brain for something to say. Finally, "I'm sorry 'bout dat man...I didn't know..." A reassuring smile and Macklin replaced the aviators back over his eyes, hand reaching back to grab his hat and place it back over his head. "Nothin' taew worry 'bout."

"mmmmmphrr..." Both craned their heads towards the Pyro at his murmur. Wade had woken up and yawned from underneath his gas mask. His hands came up slowly and peeled the mask up off his mouth. "G'morning..." He mumbled sleepily, raising his arms up above his head in a stretch. "Where's...oh..." He had craned his head around to try and locate the Spy, but found him up front driving. Macklin waved his hand curtly, getting the Pyro's attention once again.

"Wade...why don't yew git started on some morhnin' grub?" The Pyro grinned at the Sniper, sliding from his seat and scurrying over to the cupboards and rifling through them. At that, Macklin stood from his seat and made his way right on over to the passenger's seat, sitting down and pulling up the map to help with directions. Remi hid a scowl as he watched the Sniper and Spy talk so calmly. Did everyone, except Heinz and perhaps Yamir, get along good with Macklin? The Scout slumped in his seat and looked towards Wade and he found himself shivering when he saw that the Pyro was staring right at him, looking at him with a look of utter cunningness. Remi gave him a glare, but Wade continued o grin his big dumb grin as he looked the Scout over.

Wade knew his secret, as well as Anderson. How many other of his collegues knew that he sort of liked the Sniper? He crossed his arms over his chest and gave Wade a glare of pure hatred. He watched Wade, with narrowed eyes, raise his hands up in what looked like mock surrender, turning his attention back on the meal he was preparing. Remi gave a soft sigh and thumped his head back onto the kitchen table to let himself fall asleep once again.

The smell of bacon and mapel syrup woke him up. Remi raised his head, noticing immediately that they had pulled over to the side of the road so they could all indulge in the breakfast that Wade had made. An empty plate was set in front of him, Remi glancing up at the Pyro with a frown. All he got in return was a grin. To the left of him was Anderson, the Spy looking more tired than he normally was. Macklin sat across from him, hands behind his head as he untied the bandana from his mouth.

Anderson ignored him, despite it being the first time he had seen the Sniper without his mask and he had to remind Remi not to stare by giving him a good smack to the back of his head. He watched Remi's gaze drop to his plate, then glance up to Wade as the Pyro settled the bacon and pancakes down on the table in front of them. The Pyro sat in the empty seat beside the Scout and started dishing himsef up. Glancing once more at Macklin, he could see a large span of scarring that started from the base of his neck and trailed up to his left cheekbone. Silently, he dished himself up.

They ate in mutual silence. No one brought up anything about Macklin's scarring during and the need to fill their hungry bellies was stronger than talking. Wade was the first to finish. Patting his stomach, he stood, "I can take over driving for awhile...give Anderson some time to rest and relax." Macklin gave a curt nod for his reply and Wade went to the wheel. There was a shifting movement as he pulled the van back out onto the street and the road turned smooth once again. Anderson was the next to finish. He wiped his mouth with his napkin and stood, immediately moving over to the couch to get some much needed rest. That left Remi and Macklin.

The silence between the two was udderly maddening. "Heolp me clean up..." Macklin finally spoke, as if feeling uncomfortable with the silence as well. He took up the empty plate of pancakes and bacon, scooping up all the silverwear and moving over to the sink. Remi jumped to his feet and took the remaining plates and scampered beside him. A window was in front of the sink, showing off the snow piling up around them. Remi was rinsing off the plates and handing them to Macklin to put into the dishwasher.

"So um..." Remi began, making the Sniper glance down at the Scout. "How did you..." He pointed at his own face, running his forefinger along his neck and cheekbone, far too awkward to mention the scarring on his collegue's face. "Ah..." Macklin raised his hand up to his face, scrubbing at the stubble on his chin. "Would ya belief me if oi told'ja it was a gatah?" A sly grin appeared at the shake of Remi's head. "Then too bad, gremlin." Macklin grinned wide at the stutter of complaints that spilled from Remi's lips at first but he zipped his lip and glared ahead.

"Oi haven't even told Wade kid..." the albino stated to the Scout as he skulked back to the chair he had been sitting in previously and sat down to sulk. A soft shake of his head, and Macklin went about finishing the dishes. It was ten minutes when he finally heard the excited, "I can see the base!" from Wade. As always, the base of Coldfront was covered head to toe in thick snow. The temperature must be freezing outside and the thought of it all made the Aussie grumble.

The van pulled to a stop just outside, the mercernaries inside quite surprised that Wade managed such a thing without causing the slipping or the sliding of the vehicle. The engine cut off and the small road trip was done. Remi shook the Spy awake, promising he could sleep more in the base. Anderson sat up, stretched, and stood, retrieving his briefcase and exiting the van, scampering across the snow and slipping inside the back entrance of the base. Wade stood from the driver's seat, moving over to Macklin to set the keys in his outstretched hand. The Pyro then moved to the back of the van to collect his things, only to beeline it straight to the exit while giving Remi that same god awful grin.

Once again the awkward silence settled between the Sniper and the Scout and Remi gave a cough, moving to quickly pick up his things. "Uh...s-sorry for...earlier..." He mumbled and earned a noise of confusion from Macklin. "About...guessing what was under your bandana...I shouldn't have-" "Don't worry about it, sprout." Macklin interrupted Remi before he could finish. "You're a good kid..." Remi held back the grin that began to grow across his face as he quickly exited the vehicle. Stepping out into the freezing air, Remi could barely feel it. He stared up at the grey sky, the clear white snow falling all around him, speckling him in a light dust. Remi felt giddy and he didn't even know why! Pulling open the door, he slid into the warm base and let out a sigh as the numbness of his limbs faded. With a day off tomorrow to give the mercernaries on both sides time to settle in, Remi didn't know how on earth he was going to spend it. Perhaps he could think of something. Perhaps...it could involve a certain Sniper as well.


End file.
